Gunning for freedom, Leyonhjelm style
Senator-elect David Leyonhjelm's comment that John Howard 'deserved to be shot' illustrates a problem all too often at the heart of libertarianism.
Federal
Jun 30, 2014
“All the people at [Sale that day] were the same as me. Everyone of those people in that audience hated [John Howard’s] guts. Every one of them would have agreed he deserved to be shot.”
Strange. If the new Victorian Greens senator Janet Rice had uttered such words, declaring that John Howard “deserved to be shot”, one suspects we would have heard rather more about it than we have. Instead, the words of incoming libertarian senator David Leyonhjelm in a Fairfax weekend profile have passed almost without notice.
Share this article
Related
Popular in Federal
Does anyone in the Australian public service get held to account?
Poll Bludger: the winners and losers from upcoming electoral boundary changes
Banks’ business model burns to the ground at royal commission
What’s to stop Turnbull sending us to war?
AMP treated the corporate regulator with contempt — understandably
You may also like
Politicians show their true colours over South African farmer fiasco
Razer: 15 years since we declared war on Iraq, little has changed
Trump tariffs trade-off sheds some light on old lies
Leyonhjelm’s pottymouth smacks of political impotence
Razer: Dutton’s ‘African gangs’ rubbish breaks with old-school Howard bigotry
Topics
25 comments
Leave a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Not already subscribed? Get your free trial, access everything immediately
Given libertarianism is Randian Objectivism-lite, I imagine most folks who’ve encountered a libertarian know how self-interested they are.
Libertarians demonstrate why in RPGs, Intelligence and Wisdom are two separate character stats.
Why should we hear about it? He’s Right isn’t he?
Abbott and his Limited News Party can count on his vote more often than not?
Just shoot me.
Imagine the headlines in The Australian if his name was Muhammad Leyonhjelm.
Leyonhjelm, will certainly fit beautifully with many of the current coalition members; some very odd oddbods abound. We do not need a longer parliamentary term with such extremists in power.
I’m glad Fairfax didn’t ask him what he thought of climate change, he may have gone apoplectic and have to be committed. Surely this is not who the average voter wanted in the Senate?
There is something seriously wrong with the political system if nutters like this can decide policy.
The nutcase has a regular column on The Land, which is often entertaining. Many farmers know that the yank-worshiping ‘libertarians’ are just neoliberals with farm tax writeoffs, and theres nobody better than real gun users to emasculate the boys with toys like DL. That DLs work is as a Big Ag salesman doesn’t endear him any either.
It’s rare to scratch a libertarian without finding an authoritarian beneath.
Shooting John Howard ? Libertarianism is looking better every day.
Ab: Unfortunately, like all libertarians, it’s only talking about shooting John Howard. Libertarians are as capable of delivering on their tantrums as any other toddler.